[Clinical research on 11 cases of epithelioid sarcoma].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with localized epithelioid sarcoma (ES).

METHODS

From January 2000 to September 2006, 11 patients with ES were treated. There were 7 males and 4 females aged 14-41 years. The patients' ages at the initial onset were 9-41 years, averaged 27.7 years. The ES was located in the upper extremity in 7 patients,lower extremity in 3, and abdomen in 1. Among the patients, 10 had a recurrence. Tumor <2 cm was seen in 7 patients, 2-5 cm in 1, and >5 cm in 3. One patient underwent an operation of local resection at another hospital. Seven patients underwent an expanding resection surgery, and the tumors with the surrounding normal tissues 3 cm above were removed. Three patients underwent a radical surgery, including extremity amputation or finger amputation. All the patients underwent routine radiotherapy and chemotherapy after operation.

RESULTS

All the wounds had a healing at the first intention without complications. All the flaps survived and the grafted bone had a fusion. Among the 11 patients followed up for 5-54 months averaged 23.2 months, 8 had a recurrence 2-20 months (average, 8.9 months) after operation, with a recurrence rate of 73%. And among the patients, 3 had a further radical surgery of extremity amputation. Four patients had a metastasis in the axillary lymph nodes 6-24 months after operation, and 1 patient had a lung metastasis 10 months after operation. They did not have a further surgical treatment. Four patients died of systemic failure 6-14 months after operation.

CONCLUSION

An early expanding resection surgery combined with postoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy is the therapy of choice for treating ES.